Non-dom departures 'not significant' for economy

Mike Williams, director of the personal tax at the Treasury, has told
Treasury Select Committee MPs that the departure of non-doms from the UK will
have little impact on the UK economy.

Responding to questions from conservative MP Peter Viggers about what effect
non-doms leaving the UK would have on the country, Williams said the impact
would ‘not (be) significant’.

The comments from Williams represent one of the few times that senior
Treasury officials have given any indication of how important non-doms are to
the UK economy.

Williams confirmed that the Treasury expects 3,000 non-doms to leave the UK
following the introduction of a £30,000 levy on foreigners who have been in the
country for at least seven years and want to keep offshore income tax free.

He was unable, however, to say whether employers of highly-skilled foreign
professionals would have to compensate their staff for the charge and breakdown
how many of the people that would leave the UK were casual or low wage workers.